Trump tariffs would be 'deeply damaging' for Scottish jobs, warns Kate Forbes
The US is Scotland’s largest export market by value for whisky
Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs would be “deeply damaging” for Scottish jobs, the Deputy First Minister has warned.
Kate Forbes said the whisky industry had already reported 1,000 job losses last year due to existing pressures.
She said the Scottish Government will continue to push for change amid “extremely unprecedented and unstable times”.
First Minister John Swinney flew to Washington DC last year to press the case for the removal of tariffs on Scotch whisky.
The US is Scotland’s largest export market by value for whisky, worth £971 million in 2024. But the current 10 per cent tariff is costing the industry £4 million a week in lost exports, according to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).
Mr Trump’s threat of a further 10 per cent hike as he attempts to acquire Greenland has set off alarm bells across the sector.
“We are deeply concerned by the proposed use of tariffs by the President of the United States in order to change Greenland’s future,” Ms Forbes told MSPs in Holyrood.
“Greenland’s future should be decided by the people of Greenland, and threats of tariffs should not be a bargaining chip in place of reasonable dialogue between international partners.”
She added: “Needless to say, any further tariffs would be deeply damaging for jobs and economic growth across Scotland, with the whisky industry reporting last year the loss of 1,000 jobs.”
Ms Forbes said the US is a “critical” export market for Scotland.
The UK government has also been pushing for a deal on whisky. Douglas Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, said there were “no guarantees” this would prevail.
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s Breakfast show, he said he understood there “are jobs and livelihoods in Scotland” on the line with the new trade deal threat.
READ MORE: Douglas Alexander accuses John Swinney of 'playing politics' over whisky with Donald Trump meeting
He said: “Firstly, I can assure the Scotch Whisky Association and the Scotch whisky industry that we absolutely get it, and the Scotch whisky industry is very high up our agenda in terms of what we are trying to achieve.
“We were the first country in the world to secure a trade deal with the United States. We have continuing work that we’re aiming to do in relation to whisky.
“We have been talking to the American administration for many months in relation to whisky. I’m acutely conscious, as the Scottish Secretary, that Scotch whisky’s largest export market by value is the United States.
“We recognise the importance of the United States. The SWA estimated that the 10 per cent tariff on UK goods was costing the sector, I think, about £4 million per week last year.
“What we’ve seen from President Trump over the last 40 hours is the threatening of an additional 10 per cent tariff on the UK and other Nato allies, with spirit tariffs currently about 10 per cent for the UK and 15 per cent for the European Union.”
He added: “I need to be open, there are no guarantees that our approach will prevail but there will be earnest, hard work, there will be a track record of success, and there will be a determination to advance the British national interest with a very clear-eyed sense as to what that involves.”
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